Soft gel delivery system for treating poultry

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to a method of treating poultry hatchlings in a hatchling tray. The method comprises of providing a soft gel form capable of being dispensed through a spray nozzle, providing a spray dispensing apparatus, the apparatus being capable of delivering a predetermined volume of the gel as a plurality of small beadlets through a plurality of nozzles, placing the hatchling tray containing the hatchlings beneath the nozzles of the dispensing apparatus, dispensing the predetermined volume of the soft gel containing the therapeutic agent as small beadlets into the hatchling tray and allowing the hatchlings to consume the beadlets. The present invention is also directed to a dispensing apparatus for dispensing a therapeutic agent in a soft gel into a hatchling tray of poultry hatchlings.

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/793,047, filed Jun. 15, 2007, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference. U.S. application Ser. No. 11/793,047is a National Stage of PCT/CA2005/000565, filed Apr. 14, 2005, andclaims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of CanadianApplication No. 2,464,522, filed Apr. 15, 2004.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a soft gel delivery system for treatingpoultry in the hatchery. In particular, the present invention relates toa delivery system for use in a hatchery for delivery of a therapeuticagent to poultry hatchlings.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are many circumstances where poultry hatchlings must be treatedwhen they first emerge. Such treatment can include administration oftherapeutic agents or it may simply involve maintaining the hydration ofthe hatchlings during holding and transport. There are many therapeuticagents which are used in the raising of poultry: vaccines, competitiveexclusion products, vitamins, minerals, medicaments and many others. Anumber of such therapeutic agents must be protected from environmentaleffects while being delivered to the hatchlings.

In particular, poultry hatchlings, within the first few days of life,are required to be immunized against various diseases and the type ofvaccine used for each disease dictates its method of administration.Vaccines are usually administered in the hatchery by injection at thetime of sorting of the hatchlings from the hatching incubator intoholding or transporting trays. Live vaccines may be administered oncethe hatchlings are established in their brooding areas in the form ofaqueous suspensions, either sprayed on feed or added to the drinkingwater.

One example of a live vaccine is that used to immunize poultry againstcoccidiosis caused by protozoa of the genus Eimeria. Coccidiosis is avery common disease of poultry and there are several species of Eimeriawhich are known to cause such disease. The symptoms and severity of thedisease are dependent upon the species of Eimeria with which the bird isinfected with E. tenella, E. acervulina and E. maxima being three of themost prevalent species in commercial chickens. At the present time, theprotection of poultry against coccidiosis involves two possiblemethods—use of anticoccidials as feed additives or immunization using acoccidiosis vaccine with immunization being increasingly the preferredroute. Coccidiosis vaccines are, at present, comprised of an attenuatedor unattenuated species of coccidia in a suitable carrier foradministration, the coccidia being capable of causing a mild form of thedisease and selected to be anticoccidial susceptible.

One common method of immunization against coccidiosis involves the useof on-feed spray administration while the birds are feeding from flatsor other containers. A vaccine comprising of oocysts of Eimeria speciesusing water as a carrier is sprayed onto the feed to be provided to thehatchlings. The use of on-feed spray administration requires large dosesof oocysts. Uniform exposure of the flocks to the vaccine cannot alwaysbe achieved.

Vaccine may also be administered through the use of water proportioningsystems including automatic fountains and automatic water medicator orproportioners. However, given the particulate nature of coccidiosisvaccines, it is doubtful that the vaccine may actually make it to thedistal end of the water line, resulting in uneven exposure to the flock.Additionally, administration of the vaccine through the waterproportioning system requires that after administration of the vaccine,the proportioning system be thoroughly cleaned to remove any residualvaccine.

The administration of vaccine in the drinking water requires that theoocysts remain suspended to provide for even exposure to the flock. Onesolution to this has been proposed by the present applicant in CanadianPatent 1,204,057, which involves suspending the oocysts in a 1.5%carrageenan solution. While this method has numerous advantages, such asreduced levels of oocysts necessary to provide immunization, as well asease of administration, there is still a drawback in that the provisionof open watering systems to hatchlings could result in the liquid beingspilled or wetting the hatchlings, which could potentially affect thehealth of the hatchlings, especially in cold weather and duringtransportation when hatchlings are vaccinated in the hatchery.

Another method of administering vaccine is through the use of a spraycabinet, which is utilized in the hatchery to spray the hatchlings witha liquid form of the vaccine. A flat or tray of hatchlings usuallycontaining about 100 birds is placed in the spray cabinet and apredetermined dose of liquid vaccine is sprayed directly on the birds.It is expected that as the birds preen they will ingest the vaccine fromtheir feathers. This method suffers some drawbacks in that uniformexposure of all of the hatchlings may not be easily achieved becauseconstant stirring is required to keep oocysts suspended just beforespraying. In addition, as the birds are being sprayed with awater-suspended vaccine, then there is a risk that the hatchlings maybecome too wet, which may affect the health of the birds.

A gel form of a coccidiosis vaccine has been described in PCTapplication WO 96/25,951, published Aug. 29, 1996. The gel form vaccineof this application is a self-supporting or sliceable vaccine which isformed into a cylinder which is, in turn, sliced to give a proper amountof the vaccine for each tray of the hatchlings. Alternatively thevaccine may be gelled into a suitable watering trough. While thisvaccine overcomes the potential problem of wetting of the birds, it doesrequire that the hatchery workers handle the gel to place it in thehatchery tray.

Thus, there remains a need for a simplified means for administration oftherapeutic agents in soft gel form to hatchlings in the hatchery, whichprovides adequate exposure of the flock to the therapeutic agent whilereducing potential problem areas.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a method of treating poultryhatchlings in a hatchling tray. The method comprises providing a softgel suspended in water and capable of being dispensed through a nozzlearrangement; providing a spray dispensing apparatus; the apparatus beingcapable of delivering a predetermined volume of the gel from a reservoirthrough a metered pump to a nozzle arrangement, the nozzle arrangementcomprising a manifold having a plurality of nozzle openings along itslength capable of dispensing the soft gel as a plurality of smallbeadlets; passing the hatchling tray containing the hatchlings alongbeneath the nozzles of the manifold; dispensing the predetermined volumeof the soft gel as small beadlets into the hatchling tray and allowingthe hatchlings to consume the beadlets.

In one aspect, the present invention is also directed to a dispensingapparatus for dispensing a soft gel into a tray of poultry hatchlings.The apparatus comprises a manifold provided with a plurality of nozzleopenings spaced along the length of the manifold, the nozzle openingsbeing sized to permit a soft gel to pass therethrough and be dispersedin the form of small beadlets. The manifold is connected to the outletof a metered pump capable of dispensing a predetermined volume of thesoft gel under pressure and the inlet of the pump is connected to areservoir for containing the soft gel in a flowable form.

In another aspect of the invention, the soft gel contains a therapeuticagent for treating the poultry hatchlings.

In yet another aspect of the invention, the therapeutic agent is avaccine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in theattached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a delivery systemof the present invention for use in association with a hatchery conveyorsystem;

FIG. 2 is front plan view of the delivery system of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view in cross section of a manifold of thedelivery system of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus fordelivering a soft flowable gel to poultry hatchlings for treating thepoultry hatchlings. In a preferred embodiment, the soft gel contains auniform suspension of a therapeutic agent and in a particularlypreferred embodiment, the therapeutic agent is a vaccine and thedelivery system delivers the vaccine in beadlets of the soft gel to thehatchlings for the purpose of immunizing the poultry hatchlings in thehatchery. The soft flowable gel is capable of being pumped and delivereddirectly to the poultry hatchlings. The soft flowable gel is dispensedas a plurality of small beadlets which may contain a therapeutic agentand which are easily capable of being ingested by the poultryhatchlings. The gel beadlets retain their moisture content to maintainthe viability and/or efficacy of any therapeutic agent contained in thesoft gel during the dispensing and consumption of the soft gel. Thebeadlets help to prevent the moisture from escaping and minimize thepotential wetting of the birds.

The soft flowable gel utilizes a suitable setting agent that can formthe soft gel at relatively low concentrations to allow the soft gel tocontain mostly water. Preferably at least 90% by weight of the gel iswater, more preferably at least 95% by weight and most preferably about98% by weight. The suitable setting agent is preferably a polysaccharidesetting agent which sets rapidly to maintain the therapeutic agent in arelatively uniform dispersion throughout the soft flowable gel. Morepreferably the setting agent is a carrageenan or alginate setting agentwhich may set either through a change in temperature or through the useof a suitable setting catalyst. Most preferably, the setting agent is akappa or lambda carrageenan setting agent, which sets through a changein temperature.

The soft flowable gel provides for an easy to handle method of treatingpoultry hatchlings in the hatchery and is, therefore, suitable forgeneral hatchery workers without any special expertise required. Thesoft flowable gel is produced utilizing an edible temperature settingpolysaccharide gel, preferably a low temperature setting alginate orcarrageenan gel, more preferably a lambda or kappa carrageenan gel andmost preferably a water soluble lambda-type carrageenan extracted fromthe red algae Eucheuma cottonii.

The soft flowable gel is prepared by dissolving the gel powder in waterat a suitable temperature to effect dissolution of the polysaccharidepowder. The powder is added to the water at a concentration such that,when mixed with any therapeutic agent and allowed to gel, a softflowable gel results. Typically, for gels containing therapeutic agents,the dissolved gel powder and therapeutic agent are mixed at a ratio ofgel powder to therapeutic agent sufficient to produce the soft flowablegel having the therapeutic agent uniformly suspended therein. For highlysoluble agents administered at low doses the ratio may be as high as1,000:1 (V/V) of dissolved gel powder to therapeutic agent. For largeparticulate therapeutic agents, such as organisms used for immunizationor competitive exclusion products, the ratios will generally be in therange of dissolved gel powder to the therapeutic agent of about 1:1(V/V) to about 20:1 (V/V). Suitable such soft flowable gels have beenfound to have a final concentration of the edible polysaccharide in thegel form of between about 0.6 and 1.5 percent, preferably between about0.6 and 1 percent, more preferably between about 0.8 and 1.0 percent andmost preferably about 1.0 percent. Thus preferably, where the ratio ofdissolved gel powder to therapeutic agent such as Eimeria oocystssuspension is about 1:1 (V/V), a dissolved polysaccharide gel solutionof about 1.2 to 3 percent, preferably about 1.2 to 2 percent, morepreferably about 1.6 to 2.0 percent, most preferably about 2.0 percent,is mixed with an equal volume of a suspension of oocysts and the mixtureallowed to gel.

The soft flowable gel when used as a vaccine, has sufficient levels ofthe immunizing organisms to provide immunization to the flock. It hasbeen found that for the method of the present invention about 15 to 50ml of gel for every 100 birds is used, for chickens, preferably about 20to 30 ml, more preferably about 20 to 25 ml, most preferably about 25 mlof the gel while for turkey poults, preferably about 20 to 40 ml, morepreferably 25 to 35 ml, most preferably 35 ml. The concentration of theimmunizing organisms in the gel should be such as to provide sufficientorganisms in this typical volume to immunize the hatchlings. It has beenfound that for Eimeria between about 50 and 1,000 oocysts per birdprovides adequate protection and so it is preferred if the soft gel hasbetween about 200 and 4,000 Eimeria oocysts per ml of gel, to providefor proper immunization of the flock. Preferably, the soft gel vaccinecontains between about 200 and 400 oocysts per ml of gel, mostpreferably about 250 oocysts per ml of gel. For a soft gel prepared bymixing the dissolved polysaccharide powder with the oocyst suspension ina ratio of about 1:1 (V/V), one volume of a 1 to 3% polysaccharide gelsolution is mixed with an equal volume of oocyst suspension containingbetween about 400 and 8,000 oocysts per ml, more preferably one volumeof a 1.2 to 2 percent polysaccharide solution with an equal volume ofoocyst suspension containing between about 400 and 800 oocysts per ml,most preferably a 2.0 percent solution of polysaccharide solution ismixed with an equal volume of oocyst suspension containing about 500oocysts per ml. The soft gel vaccine may also be prepared by mixing thedissolved polysaccharide powder with a concentrated oocyst suspension ata higher ratio of dissolved gel powder to oocysts suspension up to about20:1 (V/V). For example, 2 liters of a 1 to 2% polysaccharide solutionmay be mixed with 120 ml of an oocyst suspension containing a total ofabout 1.5 to 3×10⁶ oocysts to prepare the soft gel vaccine.

The use of the edible polysaccharide gels results in a gel which setsrapidly, generally in about 2 minutes or less. This maintains anytherapeutic agents such as vaccine organisms in uniform suspension andallows for more uniform exposure of the poultry hatchlings to thetherapeutic agents, such as immunizing organisms. Unlike suspension inwater, oocysts in the soft gel, after preparation with a mixer willremain suspended without further agitation for up to 24 hours.

The low content of the edible gum in the soft gel means that preferably95% by weight or more of the gel is water which, when used with orwithout therapeutic agents, can aid in the hydration of the bird andinduce the feeding response. The soft gel has other advantages overliquid suspensions in that the gel will not wet the bird as much andtherefore will not affect the health of the chicks, particularly inwinter when, if the hatchling becomes wet through exposure to aqueoussolution, the exposure may cause death of the hatchling.

The therapeutic agent utilized with the soft flowable gel of the presentinvention may be one or more of vitamins, minerals, medicaments,vaccines, competitive exclusion products, etc. The soft flowable gel ofthe present invention is particularly useful for administration of liveorganisms, such that are used in competition exclusion products orvaccines. Competitive exclusion products are probiotics, for example,such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, which are utilized to populate thegut of the poultry and help minimize the potential infection of thepoultry with pathogenic organisms, such as Salmonella, Clostridia, etc.One example of such a competitive exclusion product is sold by OrionCorp., Finland under the tradename Broilact.

The soft flowable gel is preferably utilized for administration ofvaccines, particularly, live vaccines to poultry. Such vaccines mayinclude live Salmonella vaccines, Infectious Bronchitis, InfectiousBursal disease, Newcastle disease, Infectious Laryngotracheitis,Mycoplasma sp., Pneumovirus and coccidiosis. The soft flowable gel ofthe present invention is of particular use to the poultry foradministration of coccidiosis vaccine containing Eimeria sp.

The amount of the therapeutic agent utilized in the soft flowable gel isadjusted to provide for the optimum therapeutic dose to the poultryhatchlings based upon the amount of gel being delivered to thehatchling. It has been found that typically each of the hatchlings willingest between about 0.15 and 0.5 ml of gel and the concentration of thetherapeutic agent is adjusted to provide the optimum therapeutic dose inthis volume of gel.

The use of the edible polysaccharide gel which gels rapidly is alsosuitable for adding nitrogen nutrients and other additives such asvitamins to the soft flowable gel. This is especially useful with heatsensitive nutrients which, if exposed to temperatures over about 50° C.,are denatured or inactivated.

The amount of the polysaccharide setting agent is selected to form asoft flowable gel. If too much setting agent is used the gel is noteasily flowable and thus is difficult to pump through the deliverysystem. If too little setting agent is used the gel form may notmaintain any therapeutic agent contained in the gel such as immunizingorganisms in a relatively uniform suspension. In addition, too littlesetting agent may also not trap the moisture properly and may allow thewater to escape, which can result in reduced viability of the immunizingorganisms as well as causing wetting of the birds.

The following examples are utilized to illustrate preferred embodimentsof the present invention but are not to be construed as limiting thescope of the invention to the specific examples.

EXAMPLE 1

From tests conducted to determine the proper amount of the setting agentto be utilized to maintain Eimeria oocysts in suspension, it wasdetermined that a gel having a viscosity of at least 23 cps is requiredto maintain the oocysts in suspension. With carrageenan gel, thistranslates to about 0.6 percent carrageenan gel. The gel may containmore carrageenan than 0.6 percent, however it has been found thatgreater than about 1 percent gel does not provide any added advantage inmaintaining the oocysts in suspension and may cause difficulties indelivery of the flowable gel. For carrageenan, the preferred range ofgel is 0.8 to 1.0 percent with 1.0 percent being the most preferred.

As set out above, for Eimeria oocysts which are rather large and denseorganisms, a gel having a viscosity of at least 23 cps is required tomaintain the oocysts in suspension. If the immunizing organisms in thegel are smaller or lighter, then a lower viscosity gel may be utilizedto maintain the organisms in suspension. The proper amount of gel toutilize to maintain the suspension of organisms, while also entrappingthe moisture within the gel matrix, may be easily determined inaccordance with the example set out above.

A first embodiment of a delivery apparatus of the present invention isillustrated in the figures generally indicated by the numeral 10. Theapparatus 10 has a manifold 14 having a plurality of nozzle openings 12along the length of the manifold 14 to enable spraying of the gel into ahatchling tray 22. The manifold 14 is spaced above the hatchling tray 22by two supports 16 having a height to space the manifold 14 above thehatchling tray 22 and being spaced apart a distance to straddle the tray22. The delivery apparatus 10 has a pump means 18 to enable the softflowable gel to be pumped through tubing and dispensed into thehatchling tray 22 through the nozzles 12 located in the manifold 14. Thepump means 18 is preferably a metered diaphragm pump as the motion ofthe diaphragm vibrates or agitates the fluid flow helping to disrupt thefluid flow and cause the soft gel to be released as a series of discreetdroplets. The tubing from the manifold 14 is connected to an outlet of ametered diaphragm pump 18 and the inlet of the diaphragm pump isconnected to a container or reservoir 20 containing the soft flowablegel. One such metered diaphragm pump is that used for chlorine dosingsuch as ProMinent Gamma Solenoid dosing pumps. The use of a diaphragmpump with chemical resistant parts also allows the apparatus to bewashed by pumping warm detergent solutions and to be sterilized bypumping chlorine containing solutions through the apparatus. This makesclean up of the apparatus very simple and provides effectivedisinfection.

The size and spacing of the nozzles of the manifold is selected toproduce a pattern of small beadlets of the soft gel. It has beendetermined that a manifold containing 20 to 35 nozzles spaced 1 to 2 cmapart along the length of the manifold are preferred. Preferably, toallow for delivery of small beadlets of gel, the inner diameter of thenozzle is about 1 mm. It has been found that providing the nozzles assmall tubes extending slightly into the manifold, helps in thedispensing of the soft gel as beadlets and reduces the likelihood of thegel dripping from the nozzles when the pump is not operating.

EXAMPLE 1

The apparatus described above was configured to deliver 25 ml of gel toeach hatchling tray containing about 100 birds. Day-old cockerels weredivided into two groups, a treatment group and a positive control group.The positive control group had 11 birds, from which one bird wasinoculated with one ml of gel, five birds were inoculated with 0.5 ml ofgel which was done via gel spray. The remaining five birds wereinoculated with 0.5 ml water containing about 2×10⁵ oocysts per ml. Thecarrageenan gel at 1.0 percent containing approximately 2.5×10⁵ oocystsper ml of gel was made and mixed with 6.7 percent blue dye. Thetreatment group of 92 birds was used for gel spraying. Postmortemexamination of the digestive tract of 46 of the gel treated birds wascarried out at 15, 30, and 60 minutes after spraying. The remainingbirds were examined 5 and 6 days after spraying and lesions were scoredfrom 0 to 4 with 0 being normal and 4 being the maximal lesions.

Positive evidence of vaccination was observed in two ways—colored bluebeaks, tongues and crops by the blue dye in the gel and the appearanceof lesions in duodenum five days after vaccination and ceca 6 days aftervaccination. In the postmortem examination of 46 of the sprayed birdscarried out at 15, 30 and 60 minutes after gel spraying, 45 of the 46birds or 98 percent picked up the gel as indicated by the blue tonguesor blue roofs. Among the birds positive with blue dye, 10 of 16 birdshad blue upper esophagi within 30 minutes and 12 of 14 birds had bluecrops within 60 minutes.

Postmortem examination carried out after 5 and 6 days of gel spray wasdone by examining the digestive tract, and particularly the duodenalloop and ceca and scoring the lesions observed. After five days, 17 of18 birds were positive with an average lesions score of 1.1±0.6 on theduodenal loop and on the ceca. After 6 days 100 percent of the birdswere positive with an average lesions score of 0.7±0.3 on the duodenalloop and 0.7±0.4 on the ceca.

It was observed that the gel sprayed on the chicken feathers was pickedup within about three minutes after spraying and the gel on the floor ofthe tray was cleaned up within 30 minutes. The postmortem examination ofthe upper digestive tract of 46 birds showed that an average of 98percent of the birds ingested the gel within 60 minutes after spraying,with 22 of 46 birds examined showing blue esophagi or crops after 30minutes of spraying, which indicated the spray gel was effectivelycarried deeper into the birds digestive tract. The postmortemexamination of the digestive tract of the 42 birds showed that anaverage of 98 percent of the birds were infected with coccidia. Amongthe birds examined on day 5, 94 percent were positive with an averagelesions score of 1.1±0.6 and after day 6, 100 percent were positive withan average lesions score of 0.7±0.3 on the duodenal loop and 0.7±0.4 onthe ceca.

EXAMPLE 2

Four hundred and twenty commercial strain male broiler chickens (Ross xRoss) were obtained at day 1 of age. Birds were randomized to one of twotreatment groups replicated six times. Half of the birds, designatedtreatment 1, were allocated to one of six litter floor pens, 35 birdsper pen. The other half of the birds, designated treatment 2, werevaccinated with gel vaccine using the apparatus of the presentinvention. All treatment replicates were group weighed before placement.Conventional corn/soybean starter, and grower/finisher diets wereprepared. Treatment 1 diets were formulated to contain Maxiban® as theanticoccidial ingredient whereas treatment 2 diets contained noanticoccidial. Birds were offered feed and water ad lib. All birds wereindividually weighed on days 21, and 49 of the trial. Starter diet wasfed to day 21; grower/finisher diet to day 49. Birds were monitored formorbidity and mortality twice daily

Table 1 shows body weight, body weight gain, feed intake and feedintake:body weight gain data and percent mortality.

Body Weight (g) Body Weight Gain (g) Treatment Initial 21 d 49 d 0-21 d21-49 d 0-49 d 1. Maxiban ® 42.4 806 3722 764 2916 3680 2. Immucox ®42.4 813 3739 770 2926 3696 SD .53 31.2 106.9 31.2 84.6 107.1Significance NS NS NS NS NS NS Feed Intake (g/bird) Feed Intake: BodyWt. Gain Mortality (%) 0-21 d 21-49 0-49 d 0-21 d 21-49 0-49 d 0-49 d 1.Maxiban ® 998 5494 6491 1.31 1.88 1.76 2.38 2. Immucox ® 996 5610 66061.29 1.92 1.79 2.38 SD 34.8 164.8 189.3 0.04 0.03 0.03 2.15 SignificanceNS NS NS NS NS NS NS

Body.weight, body weight gain, feed intake, feed utilization and percentmortality were not affected by method of providing coccidial controlthroughout the trial (P>0.05).

EXAMPLE 3

To compare the efficacy of gel spray delivery, gel puck.delivery, andwater diluent delivery of turkey coccidiosis vaccine in a challengestudy. Measurements of efficacy include weight gains and lesions scores.Immucox for Turkeys, consisting of Eimeria meleagrimitis and E.adenoeides, was used for immunization.

Birds were vaccinated at day 1 and housed in single-use cardboard boxesfor each treatment, and given feed and water ad libitum. The negativeand positive controls were treated similarly and not vaccinated. Theywere placed in a separate isolation room. To minimize bias all birdswere randomly assigned to be in one of the five groups; each bird wastagged and weighed before challenge and again 5 days post-challenge.When birds were 8 days old they were split into two boxes for eachtreatment group (12-14 birds per box).

Twenty-seven poults were vaccinated at day 1 by the gel spray machine.Approximately 25 mL of the gel spray mixture was pumped onto the poultsfor their consumption. Twenty-seven poults were vaccinated at day 1 bythe gel puck delivery method. Gel puck vaccine was left in the box for90 min for poults to ingest Twenty-six poults were vaccinated at day 1by the water delivery method. The vaccine in a mixture of diluent andwater was left out for 90 min for poults to drink.

At 15 days of age the poults in the positive control, gel spray, gelpuck, and water delivery treatment groups were challenged with a totalof 400,000 oocysts/bird. Approximately 55% were E. meleagrimitis and 45%were E. adenoeides. After challenge the birds were then transferred toclean cardboard boxes at 2 boxes per treatment group. Five dayspost-challenge, each bird had its weight recorded and was thensacrificed. Lesions of the caeca were scored. Two lesion scores wererecorded and averaged for statistical purposes.

One bird died in the negative control group (no treatment, no challenge)on day 13. No other mortality was observed. No lesions were found in thenegative control group. The birds in the gel puck delivery group gainedthe most weight, an average of 66.3 g per bird. Birds in the waterdelivery, gel spray delivery, and non vaccinated/unchallenged treatmentgroups gained similar amounts of weight at 59.8 g, 61.4 g, and 62.3 gper bird, respectively. Birds in the unvaccinated/challenged groupgained the least amount of weight at 52.3 g.

In this Experiment, a two species turkey coccidiosis vaccine containingEimeria meleagrimitis and E. adenoeides was given to poults by threeroutes: gel spray, gel puck, and water delivery. Both positive andnegative control groups were included in the study. Birds werechallenged with a high dose of turkey coccidia on day 15. Vaccinedelivered by gel puck offered the best protection against a highchallenge of turkey coccidia than either water delivery or spraydelivery as observed by a better weight gain. However all three routesof delivery provided improved weight gains which were statisticallysignificant (p<0.03) when compared to non-vaccinated challengedcontrols. When lesion score was the measurement of efficacy, delivery ofvaccine by gel spray or water was better than delivery by gel puck. Gelspray offers an alternative to delivery by water or gel puck and isefficacious as judged by weight gains and lesion scores.

The soft flowable gel of the present invention allows for an easy to usesystem for treating poultry hatchlings. In one embodiment, the treatingof the poultry hatchlings involves maintaining hydration of thehatchlings during holding and transport. In this embodiment, the softgel would comprise the suitable setting agent and water, with at least90% of the weight of the gel being water, more preferably be at least95% by weight and most preferably about 98% by weight. When utilizingthe soft gel for hydration of the poultry hatchlings, it may beadvisable to increase the amount of gel dispensed per hatchling tray upto about 75 ml to allow the hatchlings to ingest the beadlets for alonger period of time. When utilized for hydration, the soft gel inaddition to the setting agent and water may also include amounts ofvitamins, minerals or other nutrients commonly employed, particularlyfor delivery in water based systems.

In a preferred embodiment, the soft gel is used for administeringtherapeutic agents particularly to poultry hatchlings. In particular,the soft flowable gel of the present invention is of most use whenadministering live organisms, such as found in competitive exclusionproducts and vaccines to the poultry hatchlings. This is particularlythe case where the live organisms are relatively large and are requiredto be maintained in suspension to allow for each of the hatchlings to beexposed to the optimal immunizing dose of the organism.

The use of the soft flowable gel vaccine also allows for the preparationof multivalent vaccines containing more than one organism commonlyutilized for vaccination against respiratory diseases such as Newcastlevirus and bronchitis, coccidiosis, and other poultry diseases.

The method and soft gel vaccine of the present invention provides for aneasy to use means of immunizing a large number of hatchlings by sprayingthe vaccine on the hatchlings in the tray. The same method can also beused in the barn, if needed. By incorporating the apparatus into aconveyor system, this is easily accomplished.

Although various preferred embodiments of the present invention havebeen described herein in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilledin the art that variations may be made thereto without departing fromthe spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

1-16. (canceled)
 17. A method of treating poultry hatchlings in ahatchling tray, the method comprising: providing a soft gel, providing adispensing apparatus for delivering a volume of the soft gel as aplurality of beadlets through a plurality of openings along a manifoldhead wherein the plurality of openings on the manifold nozzle headapproximately spans the length or width of a hatchling tray, placing thehatchling tray containing poultry hatchlings beneath the nozzle openingsof the dispensing apparatus, dispensing the volume of the soft gel asbeadlets onto the hatchlings in the hatchling tray, passing thehatchling tray beneath the openings for distribution of the beadlets tothe hatchlings contained therein, and allowing the hatchlings to consumethe beadlets.
 18. A method according to claim 17, wherein the volume ofthe soft gel is a predetermined volume between about 15 ml and about 50ml per tray.
 19. A method according to claim 17, wherein the soft gelcontains a therapeutic agent.
 20. A method according to claim 19,wherein the therapeutic agent is a live organism.
 21. A method accordingto claim 20, wherein the live organism is a vaccine.
 22. A methodaccording to claim 21, wherein the vaccine is one or more immunizingorganisms selected from Salmonella, Infectious Bronchitis, InfectiousBursal disease, Newcastle disease, Infectious Laryngotracheitis,mycoplasma, Pneumovirus and coccidiosis.
 23. A method according to claim17, wherein the hatchlings consume the beadlets off of the hatchlingfeathers and the floor of the tray within minutes.
 24. A method ofproviding a treatment system for treating poultry hatchlings, the methodcomprising: selecting a powder to be dissolved in water to form aflowable gel, said selecting of said powder being performed such thatsaid flowable gel, when mixed with water and a therapeutical agent, isedible by poultry hatchlings and said therapeutic agent is maintainablein a uniform suspension in said flowable gel; configuring a deliveryapparatus for delivering said flowable gel, said delivery apparatuscomprising a manifold defining a plurality of openings, wherein saidconfiguring comprises selecting a configuration for said manifold suchthat said apparatus be configured to deliver beadlets of said flowablegel; providing said powder; and providing said delivery apparatus so asto enable preparation of said flowable gel with said powder therebyenabling treatment of a plurality of poultry hatchlings by deliveringsaid flowable gel with said delivery apparatus.
 25. A method accordingto claim 24, further comprising mixing said powder with water, andadding said therapeutic agent thereby forming said flowable gel.
 26. Amethod according to claim 24, wherein selecting said powder is performedbased on a viscosity of said flowable gel.
 27. A method according toclaim 24, wherein selecting said powder comprises selecting apolysaccharide powder.
 28. A method according to claim 24, whereinselecting said powder comprises selecting a carrageenan powder.
 29. Amethod according to claim 25, wherein said mixing comprises adjusting aconcentration of said therapeutic agent based on a volume of saidflowable gel delivered to said poultry hatchlings.
 30. A methodaccording to claim 25, wherein the therapeutic agent comprises avaccine.
 31. A method according to claim 25, wherein the vaccine is oneor more immunizing organisms selected from Salmonella, InfectiousBronchitis, Infectious Bursal disease, Newcastle disease, InfectiousLaryngotracheitis, mycoplasma, Pneumovirus and coccidiosis.
 32. A methodof providing a product for a treatment system for treating poultryhatchlings, the method comprising: selecting a powder to be dissolved inwater to form a flowable gel, said selecting of said powder beingperformed such that said flowable gel, when mixed with water and atherapeutic agent, is edible by poultry hatchlings and said therapeuticagent is maintainable in a uniform suspension in said flowable gel;producing said powder in a form such that said flowable gel isdeliverable with a delivery apparatus comprising a plurality ofopenings, and such that said flowable gel is deliverable in beadlets viasaid openings; and providing said powder so as to enable preparation ofsaid flowable gel with said powder thereby enabling treatment of aplurality of poultry hatchlings by delivering said flowable gel via saiddelivery apparatus.
 33. A method according to claim 32, whereinselecting said powder comprises selecting a polysaccharide powder.
 34. Amethod according to claim 32, wherein selecting said powder comprisesselecting a carrageenan powder.